


Mutiny Answers

by dotpng



Category: Halt and Catch Fire
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9720002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotpng/pseuds/dotpng
Summary: >MY BOSSES R IN LOVE: my 2 bosses are obviously in love and everyone can tell but neither of them is doing anything about it. it’s almost painful watching them dance around it all day and it makes working here really awkward. other than that they’re both really cool and would be great together. what should i do?





	1. Chapter 1

MUTINY ANSWERS

 

user NewWaveLev has joined the room

 

>NewWaveLev: hey guys welcome to mutiny answers. just submit your questions anonymously using the form and the community can respond! still testing so let me know if you run into bugs

 

> **WORKING FINE** : looks good dude -yoyo

 

>>NewWaveLev: RE:WORKING FINE: :)

 

> **HELP??????** : how do i pass chapt 10 parallax in the underwater cavern? it makes no sense ur games broken. i want my monye back

 

user CamHowe has joined the room

 

>>CamHowe: RE: HELP??????: chet if thats u again i swear to god i will kick your scrawny ass

 

> **MY BOSSES R IN LOVE** : my 2 bosses are obviously in love and everyone can tell but neither of them is doing anything about it. it’s almost painful watching them dance around it all day and it makes working here really awkward. other than that they’re both really cool and would be great together. what should i do?

 

As soon as he clicked enter, Lev felt all eyes in the room turn to him. He looked up; across from the table, Arki gave him a sympathetic glance. They all Knew, with a capital K. The glances, the casual touches, the way they laughed and smiled, more than they had in ages; it had been going on for months, and at first, honestly, it’d been sweet! Hell, Lev could appreciate a cute office romance.

As it dragged on, though, and neither of them acted on it the _obvious_ chemistry or said something or _anything_ , it just turned incredibly frustrating. It had everyone groaning into their hands every time one complained about how the other _obviously deserved better,_ somehow not volunteering herself. He was pretty sure even Gordon could tell.

A new reply popped up on the screen.

 

user DClark has joined the room

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Well, it’s pretty unprofessional behavior to bring romance into the workplace. Clearly it's affecting the atmosphere of the office and therefore the quality of your work. They should keep their feelings to themselves unless they're willing to stop working together. If it doesn't stop, bring your concerns to a superior!

 

Lev risked a glance at Donna; she seemed perfectly oblivious, typing away with a furrowed brow. This was, to be honest, the actual reason he’d made Mutiny Answers. One man couldn't decipher this alone.

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: omg are you serious

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: What?

 

“Oh my God,” muttered Lev under his breath.

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: unprofessional? the guy didnt say they were boning in the broom closet, donna. you can't prevent people from liking each other, thats insane

 

user BodeBodie has joined the room

 

>>BodeBodie: RE: MY BOSSES: lol boning

 

user BodeBodie has been banned

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: I’m just saying, you should know yourself that office shenanigans often don't turn out for the best! People get hurt. It's common sense.

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: oh, sorry, i know this is real sensitive for u ever since you awkwardly hit on ur boss and he just stole the giant blueprints from u lol

 

Across the room, Donna’s knuckles went white where they clutched her mouse and her lips thinned into a tight line. Then she started typing again, in sharp rapid-fire jabs.

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Is this really how you wanna play it, Cameron?

 

Lev had never been more terrified in his life.

 

>>NewWaveLev: RE: MY BOSSES: hey guys maybe we could calm down a little

 

Donna’s face softened as she glanced over at him. “Thanks, Lev, but you don’t have to moderate this. It’s not your fault, it’s between Cam and I.”

He gulped. “I mean, I kind of do. I’m the Mutiny Exchange moderator.”

“You know what I-” she cut herself off as she glanced back at the screen. “Oh that’s _it_.”

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: sorry i dont think anything ive done will ever be as embarrassing as trying to get with a dude called hunt whitmarsh

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: He was a perfectly nice guy!

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: yeah i mean i guess the bar is pretty low when youre married to gordon

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Or, I don’t know, maybe you’re projecting?? Literally any guy would seem decent after Joe right?

 

User TRendon has joined the room

 

>>TRendon: RE: MY BOSSES: ...Ok can I just give my 2 cents here

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: No!

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: NO

 

From the next room, Lev heard a sigh and the scrape of a chair, and a minute later, Tom walked by. “She’s impossible to talk to like this, when she’s caught up in something with Donna,” he said. “I’m gonna get a coffee someplace and wait for this to blow over. You wanna come?”

Lev sat there, frozen between guilt and nervous, panicky hilarity. “I’m the moderator,” he offered, shrugging.

Tom nodded knowingly. “Good luck, man.”

Lev sighed. Yeah, he was gonna need it.


	2. Chapter 2

user Skywalker65 has joined the room

 

user MegaWizard has joined the room

 

user WonderBoy has joined the room

 

>>Skywalker65: RE: MY BOSSES: hey which boss is the actual boss??

 

>>MegaWizard: RE: MY BOSSES: Yeah try talking to him about it

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: fuck you who says its a man

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: ^^^^^^

 

>>Skywalker65: RE: MY BOSSES: ok op whos the big boss the dude or the chick

 

Lev bit his lip. This was a little too close for comfort. A half answer would probably be best if he didn’t want to raise suspicion.

 

>>OP: RE: MY BOSSES: theyre like. co-bosses i guess?

 

>>Skywalker65: RE: MY BOSSES: who the fuck has two co-bosses where the hell do you work

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: its 1985 idiot plenty of places have open management structures including mutiny

 

Or not.

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: I guess at least in that case there’s no messed-up power dynamics in the relationship? Those can get really destructive and controlling.

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: wow @ me next time

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Anyway to get back to the issue at hand I think we can all agree workplace relationships (and no I am NOT referring to Joe) can put unnecessary strain on everyone, including the involved parties.

 

>>MegaWizard: RE: MY BOSSES: But its hot

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: That is absolutely not the point.

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: no hes right its super hot thats really important donna

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Okay but what if it ends badly? What if, for example, one of the people is a sociopath who ruins everyone’s life, and the other person’s only option is to quit?

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: ok fuck you now youre DEFINITELY talking about joe

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Well if the shoe fits, Cameron!!

 

>>MegaWizard: RE: MY BOSSES: Who the fuck is joe

 

user YoYoMaster has joined the room

 

>>YoYoMaster: RE: MY BOSSES: an asshole

 

He’d never miss an opportunity to drag Joe MacMillan. Might as well jump in.

 

>>NewWaveLev: RE: MY BOSSES: a really narcissistic pair of eyebrows.

 

>>WonderBoy: RE: MY BOSSES: we don’t speak that name here

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: See my point, Cam?

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: oh sorry i didnt realize he was a normal and well-adjusted guy before i cursed his dick with my crazy powers of seduction

 

>>MegaWizard: RE: MY BOSSES: Ok so hes the ex, got it lol. jeez

>>KickAssassaurus: RE: MY BOSSES: so in that case, does this “joe” happen to have any secret cheat codes?

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: NO he doesnt have any fucking cheatcodes chet

 

From down the hallway came the sound of something crashing to the floor and a distinctly Cam-like “Fuck!”. Lev winced. He should probably try to do some damage control?

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Chet, this is neither the time nor place. For the record Joe hasn’t enjoyed normal human entertainment once in his entire life so I doubt he plays games.

 

When he knocked on Cameron’s door she was still cursing under her breath, trying to tidy up a stack of CDs she’d apparently knocked onto the floor.

“Cam?”

“What do you want?” she snapped, then sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, I just- it’s been a long day.”

Lev glanced at his watch. “It’s 3PM and you got up 4 hours ago.”

She groaned in exasperation. “Exactly! And I’ve got the server issues to deal with already and now Donna is lecturing me and everyone and their  _ mother _ wants to know about fucking  _ Joe _ , and- God, I just want to go back to sleep already!” Cam ended her sentence with a dramatic sweep of her arm, knocking over the small stack of discs she’d put together so far. “Jesus, are you kidding me?!”

Lev knelt down and started helping her pick up the CDs. “Cameron... “ he hesitated, “you know Donna doesn’t mean to lecture you, right? She’s just concerned.”

“I get that, it’s just-” Cam frowned. “Why does she have to get in my business so much? It just feels- I don’t know. It’s like she’s judging me. I don’t do that to her!”

He glanced at her skeptically. “Really? What about the time you got upset and said she was trapped in her marriage?”

Her eyes widened. “Hey, no! I wasn’t judging her! I was judging Gordon, for being a loser! It wasn’t about her doing anything wrong, really, it was about...” she stopped in her tracks. “Him. Huh. You think that’s-?”

“Yeah, I think if anyone’s getting judged here, it’s Admiral Eyebrows. And for the record,” he said, gently, “I don’t think she’s judging. I just think she really cares about you.”

At that, she kind of just sat there, mulling it over. He put the final disc on the stack and got to his feet. “Yeah. You- you’re right. Thanks, Lev,” she said, finally, with a little half-smile. He got the feeling she wasn’t just talking about the CDs.

He flashed her a smile as he walked out. “Hey, no problem.”

Lev managed to get all the way back to his seat before letting the pleasant look drop off his face. He groaned and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. Okay, God, crisis averted… for now.


	3. Chapter 3

>>OP: RE: MY BOSSES: The real issue here is that they /aren’t/ doing anything about it. 

 

>>DClark: RE: MY BOSSES: Good! If they act on it it could implode horribly!

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: ...anyway back in the real world not defined by donna’s anxiety i honestly think you should talk to whoever seems more likely to act on it to avoid secret longing gazes across the room and like, pining and stuff making it weird for everyone

 

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: if they talk to each other about it at least theyll be clear on whats what and it wont permeate the whole space

 

Lev blinked. That advice was actually not half bad. He couldn't really maneuver it now, though. It’d be too obvious, and right now he had… some fires to put out. He rolled his chair over to Donna.

“Hey, how’re you doing?”

She sighed. “Okay, I guess, considering.”

“Not to get all up in your business, but…” Lev paused, trying to dredge up some helpful tip gleaned from the mediation chat rooms. “Have you thought about how she feels?”

She stared at him. “Really?”

“No, I mean, hear me out- I know you’re just trying to help her, right? You’re just worried about her.”

“Exactly and she’s acting like-”

Lev held up a finger in a shush motion and Donna looked at him like maybe he was testing her limits a little bit. “But she  _ knows _ Joe was bad. You saw what it did to her.”

She nodded a little, biting her lip.

“And you know how defensive she is. So every time you bring it up it just makes her feel awful, like you’re chastising her for being weak or something. Obviously she's going to get all aggressive and sarcastic.”

Donna looked down at her hands. “Okay. Well, I kind of feel like an ass now.”

Lev smiled. “Part of being human.” It was starting to look like everything was gonna be fine.

Down the hall, a door slammed open, and Cameron stomped into the room.

“Donna, could i have a word?” she said, tersely. “In my office?”

Donna shrugged. “I don't know why, after airing my dirty laundry on a public forum, you're so suddenly concerned with privacy.”

“Just-” Cam huffed, grabbed her arm and yanked her out of her chair.

“Hey-”

“Just come with me!”

Lev frowned. He hadn’t planned for this.

PRIVATE CHAT

 

>>CamHowe: dont talk just type

 

>>DClark: If you wanted to chat on Mutiny why are we in your office?

 

>>CamHowe: i just realized ppl might be listening in

 

>>DClark: This is a little ridiculous, Cam. I was going to apologize and

 

>>CamHowe: nevermind its fine just look at these chat logs

 

>>CamHowe: “> **MY BOSSES R IN LOVE** : my 2 bosses are obviously in love and everyone can tell but neither of them is doing anything about it. it’s almost painful watching them dance around it all day and it makes working here really awkward. other than that they’re both really cool and would be great together. what should i do?”

 

>>DClark: ...I don’t understand your point here. We both saw that.

 

>>CamHowe: yeah but look at what they say later “>>OP: RE: MY BOSSES: theyre like. co-bosses i guess?”

 

>>DClark: Oh, like us. That’s fairly unusual, no?

 

>>CamHowe: i was too mad at you to notice at the time but “>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: its 1985 idiot plenty of places have open management structures including mutiny”

 

>>DClark: Wait are you saying this is about us??

 

>>CamHowe: the user data says theyre in this zip code so

 

>>DClark: But I’m straight!

 

>>CamHowe: sure you are. anyway we need to find this clown

 

>>DClark: Agreed.

 

>>DClark: Wait what’s that supposed to mean?

 

user CamHowe has left the room

 

“Cameron, you’re right next to me in physical space. That’s not gonna-”

Cam placed a finger on her lips dramatically. “Shhhh! The walls have ears!”

* * *

For the past ten minutes, Lev had been anxiously staring at Cameron’s office door. First there’d been some shuffling about and confused mumbling, but then- nothing. Total silence.

>>CamHowe: RE: MY BOSSES: OP i am going to find you

 

Oh mother fucking shit.

He barely had time to wipe the terror off his face before both women walked out to stand before them.

“Okay, we wanted to-” started Donna.

Cam cut her off. “Which one of you is it who can’t mind their own  _ fucking _ business??”

Everyone looked at each other. “Who is it? Tell me!” 

Total silence.

Cameron stood there for a minute, fuming. Then she turned to Donna. “Do the- do the mom thing.”

Donna rolled her eyes, but then she crossed her arms, and shifted her face into the perfect expression of not-angry-just-disappointed. “I’m going to count to five.”

From the back of the room Carl yelled. “IT WAS LEV!”

“Dude, really-”

Cam silenced him with a glare. “Office. Now.”

When he got to the door, she turned to Donna. “Not, not you. You- I don’t know, just, wait here.” Before she could protest, Cameron slammed the door behind them, and immediately turned to angrily whisper at Lev.

“Dude! I was going to talk her! Now it’s all- weird!”

Lev held back a laugh- that probably wouldn’t go over well. “Cam… It’s been weird for a while. The tension is like, visible to the naked eye.”

“No it’s not!” Then, more anxiously, “Is it?”

“Yeah, it totally is.” He thought back to the previous week, when Cam had leaned over Donna’s shoulder to check some code and they’d accidentally made eye contact and stayed frozen for, like, a minute. Yeesh. “Just- make a move. Cat’s out of the bag now, you know?”

“I guess…” She bit her lip.

Something was still bothering him though. “I thought you’d be more mad.”

“Nah. I mean, I had this kind of nightmare vision of Bodie being all- God. But it’s you, and well, y’know.”

Ah. They both nodded at each other knowingly.

“Anyway…” She gestured, “Kind of have to go clean this whole mess up.”

“Hey,” he said, as she turned to leave, “you guys are my bosses, but you’re also my friends. I’m here for you.”

For a second Cameron looked shockingly, suspiciously close to tears. Then her face settled back on a smile. “Ha, yeah, okay. Don’t get all tacky on me.”

She opened the door. “Hey, Donna, can we talk?”

“I- Sure.” Donna squinted around the roomful of guys listening intently. “Actually, let’s… let’s go get coffee somewhere. Far.”

Lev smiled proudly as they walked out the door, arm in arm. He’d done it! Kind of! With only minimal yelling involved!

From the silent room Bodie spoke up. “So like, what just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally finished! yay! who's ready to ignore s4's inevitable heterosexuality 
> 
> (by sending me requests and prompts @ honestfutures.tumblr.com ;))

**Author's Note:**

> So I promise this gets less...... volatile... but it's a halt and catch fire relationship so when will it ever not be! I've got the next chapter started so please comment and guilt me into finishing it thanks


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